Six British embassy staff were taken hostage by Iranian protesters who broke into the British Council compound in northern Tehran, local semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

Some 300 students staged a protest before the British Council compound in the Qolhak area in northern Tehran and about 100 of them forced their way into the building despite the police prevention, said the report.

The protesters dragged down the British flag in the compound and replaced it with the flag of the Islamic Republic.